Months back, we asked Keto Burns what his favorite NSSA moment was. "Losing every year in the third round," he said.

Self-deprecation aside, Keto had quite the showing at last week's East Coast Championship. While he'd reached the podium before, he always stood in the mist of someone else's victory shower. This time, though, the runners-up watched him hoist his first place Open Men's trophy above his head.

"I've gotten second [place] three or four times, and it felt great to finally get a win, especially in Open Men's," says Keto.

Keto also took fourth in Explorer Juniors and sixth in Explorer Mens. That same day he placed third in the NSSA airshow. Jeeze, don't these kids get tired?

"I've been training a lot lately, which makes [surfing multiple divisions] easier. Eating well throughout the day is important too."

In June, Keto will fly to California for the NSSA Nationals, hoping to carry over his success from the East Coast.

"There's obviously more than double the competition at Nationals, but [coming off a win] is still a bit of a confidence booster."